Sims Social begins with designing your character. Give them clothes, a Mohawk, some nice earrings and a tattoo, then begin the game. The short tutorial shows the basics on how to interact with items, as well as giving you the first taste of the collection system.
One change, which makes Sims Social easier then other Sims games, is that in order to satisfy your needs you can click on that need and your Sim will automatically do something to satisfy that need. This is not always the best option. When you have a red hygiene button and click it your Sim may brush their teeth instead of taking a shower, but for a quick fill it is a good short cut.
The currency system is the other major difference. Instead of simoleans which can buy you anything, there are now simoleans, energy, social points, life points, collectibles and SimCash.
Simoleans
Unlike The Sims for PC or consul in which you earn simoleans by getting a job, for Sims Social there are no jobs, and almost everything gets you simoleans. Learn a skill, cook a meal, weed the garden, or take a picture of wild life. Each will net a basic amount of simoleans, and some experience points. As with jobs in other Sims games, the higher your skill points for things like writing, cooking and playing music, the more simoleans you will earn for your achievements.
Social Points
By interacting with other Sims you earn social points. This allows you to buy special items from the Sim store. Sims is, after all, a social experience, and EA wanted to encourage this aspect of the game by giving extras that you must have friends in order to get. A lot of the social point items also require collectibles to finish building (see collectibles). This keeps the items rarer, so you may just be the first Sim on the block with that high speed jacuzzi. While you can use simoleans and social points to buy new items, harvest your garden, and decorate, the real currency for Sims, like most Facebook games, is “energy”.
Energy
Actions in Sims Social are split into two types, basic and energy consuming. The energy consuming actions, like talking to your friends, or earning a skill point, net you simoleans and experience, and cost one energy point each. You will also get many of the collectibles, and sometimes an extra energy bolt from these actions.
While many Facebook games have nothing for you to do once your energy runs out, in Sims Social you can still do basic things, like eating, sleeping and showering. You can also do things for fun like play the guitar, or a game on the computer. These actions may sometimes give you collectibles for crafting and building, though you get no experience, and no simoleans. They will also keep your Sim happy. You can not do social interactions with other Sims unless you have energy but the social bar empties slower then the others to compensate.
All actions requiring energy have a lightning bolt on the button. In order to get more energy you can craft energy drinks, get boosts from friends, sometimes earn energy while doing tasks or wait. One energy is restored every five minutes, taking 75 minutes to fill the entire bar. Visiting new friends gives three energy. Friends can also send energy bars for an extra energy point, and every day you get “bonus energy” to spend on socializing with friends.
Collectibles
Many tasks drop collectible items such as the rubber ducky or soap from showering, or blue prints from using your writing skills. These items are used in crafting, building and quests. You can find your inventory of collectibles in the craft button on the backpack tab.
There are some items you can buy from the Sim store that have a hammer in the upper corner of their picture. These items require building. To build you purchase and place the item, then use the required collectibles to complete the item in order to finish them. You can also ask friends to help you get these items.
Collectibles can also be used to craft potions. These potions can give you instant fills on your hygiene, hunger, social and other meters, and even fill your energy bar or make you in an instant bad mood.
To get collectibles you have to perform tasks. Different tasks will give you different collectibles, and some tasks will give you more then one kind of collectible. Some collectibles can only be gained with items you purchase, such as the daydream collectible which requires a lazy-boy chair. Others, like colored essence, are only available when you are performing certain quests. To get special collectibles look for interactions with people and items that are new.
Remember that you do not have to use only the items in your own house to get these. Sims Social encourages you to visit your friends and use their items. Some collectibles are once per item collections so it is easier to visit friends and use their items.
Quests
On the left side of your screen little bubbles with faces will appear. These Sims will give you quests to complete, and each quest completed will give you bonus experience, collectibles, life points or simoleans. Beginning or completing some tasks will also open up new items to buy, or new actions to perform. Check often for new quests, and keep tabs on completion to level faster.
Life Points
As you accomplish tasks and learn skills you will also collect little chests. Each chest gives you a collection of life points which are used for upgrading your character. In the lower left corner by your portrait, or by clicking on your character, you will find a button called “traits”. This allows you to buy certain traits that allow you to customize your character. Make them more of an ogre so that people don’t get along with you, or make your bladder bigger so you don’t have to spend as much time in the bathroom. You start with one slot, and can use life points to purchase more. Once you fill a slot with a trait you can upgrade that trait, or buy a new trait for the next slot. Upgrading can get expensive but depending on the trait, it can be worth it.
Inspiration
When all of your meters are full you get inspired. This gives you bonuses to all skill building, and the simolean pay out increases with your level. The best way to get inspired is to go visit a friend, spend two or three energy to talk, then go back to your house and refill all the other meters. The social meter drops the slowest, and will sometimes increase while doing outdoor activities like gardening. You can also make an inspiration potion that will automatically fill your meters getting you inspired. The higher your level, and the better your skill points the more your inspiration will effect your bonuses.
Leveling
Using energy to perform tasks, learning skills, photographing wildlife, completing quests, and social interactions all give you experience. Once you level your energy bar will be replenished and you will get more life points, and be able to share the life points with your friends. Leveling also opens up more items, and options, as well trait slots which you can purchase.
Extras
Clicking the gift box in the upper left corner ever day will give you a bonus you can share. By visiting friends you get “bonus energy”. This can only be used to socialize and do tasks in your friends homes. Pay attention to the outdoors. When you first build your home your yard will be filled with weeds, mushrooms and thorns. Pulling, cutting and digging up these items will clear space for building onto your house, and give you simoleans and experience, though not a lot. Crystals and chests sometimes appear in your yard. They can be mined giving you experience, simoleans and collectibles. Hedgehogs and bird will land in your yard. Take a picture of them for experience and simoleans. Don’t neglect your yard when upgrading your house. If you plant flowers and trees you can water them later, and that will give you experience and simoleans. Speaking of upgrading, when you buy furnishings for your home you get upgrade points. This increases the value of your home. Upgrade enough and you “move” to a better neighborhood which gives you more options and more items you can buy. You can rummage through trashcans on your plot and friends plots gaining experience and sometimes collectibles. Sometimes bonus energy will drop when you harvest, cut grass or perform skills. Visiting your friends home page will allow you to collect simoleans, collectibles and social points if they share bonuses. Lastly, you begin the game with four garden plots. You can plant vegetables here to harvest for simoleans, experience, and some collectibles. Be aware that it takes no energy to plant, and one to harvest each plot. Each vegetable or fruit takes a different amount of time to grow as well.
SimCash – the other option
If you want to give your Sims everything, and speed up your progress, then you can use SimCash. SimCash is bought with real money, or Facebook credit. You can use it to automatically get collectibles to complete quests, potions and building, or to purchase special items that can not be bought any other way. This allows you to bypass a lot of things that require your neighbors help, as well, lowering the “social” aspect of the game.
In all, The Sims Social is a good game that fits well in the Facebook gaming scene. My advice is to make a lot of Sim friends, and save the SimCash as a last resort.